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The Harlequins
The Harlequins are a group of jesters and other sorts of entertainers who believe in "The Laughing God". They occasionaly host a circus. Beliefs The Harlequins believe in Cegorath, otherwise known as "The Laughing God". He is, of course, not one of the actual Terran gods, but more of a symbol of jesters and entertainers. The story of Cegorath goes that he was a jester, who through much plotting and many tricks, arose to the position of a god. The other gods were not happy and attempted to destroy him, but in his goldy powers he escaped to another realm where he hides from the wrath of the other gods. Harlequins strive to join Cegorath in this realm and join him in "The Dance without End". "The Dance without End" is the ultimate preformance for all Harlequins. It is a dance that continues into death and is preformed with Cegorath. As the name suggests, the dance never ends, it is said that when the other gods find Cegorath the dance will lead them into battle against the other gods. Even if they are defeated, the dance doesn't end. Mask's & Name's Mask's The Mask of a Harlequin is the most important part of their character. It is both meant to represent a person and their experiences, but also hide their true form. If a Harlequin's mask is destroyed they are considered to be in ill favour with Cegorath. In order to regain his fabour they must rebuild their mask from whatever is left of their old one and any other materials they might add to represent the experience of the destruction of their mask. Name's All Harlequin's also have a show name. It is tradition that all Harlequins have this name and may only call themselves by that name when in the presence of other Harlequins. It is not an enforced tradition, as in the past many Harlequins have inducted their families to the group and find it more comfortable to call each other by their real names. Organization The Harlequin's are organized into troupes, and each troupe is lead by either a Solitaire or a Death Jester. The troupe may contain any number of people and they are wholey independent. Troupes do interact with each other to organize preformances or meetings. Within the troupes, there are several titles that represent a Harlequin's standing within the troupe. These are: *Trouper - The lowest standing, they are newly inducted Harlequins. *Jester - The next standing, these are trusted Harlequins who are highly talented in their field *Death Jester - The second highest standing, Death Jesters are both feared for their appearance and worshipped for their great skill. Only Harlequins who have proved themselves beyond doubt can obtain this standing *Solitaire - The highest standing, they are the most mysterious. A Solitaire must lead his own troupe. To qualify, a Death Jester must particiapte in "The Dance of Choosing" and come out victorious. Solitaire's are stripped of all identity within the troupe, and they are only known as "The Solitaire" or "Solitaire". They wear featureless or simple coloured masks that hide completely who they are. History Beginnings 10 years ago, there was a circus that travelled the lands. They pitched the big top wherever they could find a decent audience and entertain the crowds. Eventually the circus fell to ruin, there was simply no money left to run the circus with. The owners of the circus left with their son to find work on their own. The fortune teller however, had other plans. He gathered together those of the old circus and formed a troupe. They called themselves The Harlequins. They decided that to attract more attention, they would wear different outfits to ordinary entertainers and adorn themselves with masks to hide their identities. After two years of success, the Harlequins grew in number and popularity. It was at this point of growth that the fortune teller decided to twist his followers to his ways. He claimed to have a great vision, where a god known as Cegorath, or "The Laughing God", came to him and told him to lead the Harlequins on their journey. In order to do so, they would have to become organized e a set of beliefs and rituals that would make them stand out in Cegorath's eyes. The devote followers believed the fortune teller, for they were convinced by his tales. With this, the Harlequins became more than just a group of entertainers. They became a religious cult, but they still maintained the role of jesters and entertainers. Their traditions and rituals consisted of dances, song and merryment. The Harlequins were not a sad cult bent on the destruction of those who did not believe, but rather a cult of joy whose aim was to bring joy to others. It was just as the fortune teller wanted, and so he constructed for himself the role of The Solitaire, so he might be left in peace and his real name forgetten. -@- More to be added -@- Recruitment New members for troupes are recruited from the population. To be recruited, one must perform publicly often so as to attract the attention of an existing troupe member. Only a Solitaire may fully induct a person to the Harlequins, but other troupe members can make reccomendations as to who to recruit. If you are recruited, then the steps to initiation are as follows: #You either make your own mask, or a mask is made for you #You are given a show name #You are given the rules #Your show name is written in The Book of Harlequins Once these steps are complete your troupe leader will show you the location of their Sanctuary, a place where Harlequins gather to practice and socialise in peace. Rituals The Harlequins have several dances which serve as rituals. These are the dances and a brief description of each: *Dance of Life - A dance that is performed at happy occasions. There are no specific steps as each Harlequin expresses joy in this song through their own movements. The music that accompanies it is strictly upbeat, as it is representing happiness. *Dance of Death - Opposite to the Dance of Life, this dance is only performed as the result of the death of a fellow Harlequin or after a war. It is danced only by the Solitaire, their role suggests that they play Death in the dance. There is no music that accompanies the dance, it is entirely visual. *Battle Steps - For the more warrior-like Harlequins, this dance is danced during a battle and constantly changes with the rhythm of the fight. The dance is also constructed to teach Harlequins some basic close combat fighting techniques to use when escape is not an option. *Dance of Choosing - A marathon dance that is performed when a new Solitaire must be decided. Only Death Jesters may participate in the dance. The Harlequin that performs the longest is given the mantle of the Solitaire. -@- More to be added -@- Rules The Harlequins live the carefree life of jesters and entertainers. As a result, they have only two rules that all Harlequins are expected to follow. *Do not harm a fellow Harlequin *When you are called to perform with the troupe, you must perform Current Members A list of the current members of The Harlequins. Note: Due to their masks one would not recognise them at first glance, and the real identity of The Solitaire is unknown. Harlequin names are in bold. *'The Solitaire' (Delief200) *Elezil Faelyn AKA''' Ashe''' (Yenshosia87) *Chelle AKA Shade (marth_is_awesome) *Pax AKA Pain (Zaiarkai) *Gretel Gearlock AKA Fox (snowbird) *Andrew AKA Silence (Pindo) *Mianna Flamel AKA Voice (Bonni2000) Category:Organizations